Summary
A skilledPokemonfan recently drew their own take on the unused Meowth Baby form that was scrapped twice. Meowth is the 52nd Pokemon in the originalPokemon Red and Blue, and remains quite popular among fans to this day. This is fueled in part by the Scratch Cat’s role as a major character in the long-runningPokemonanime, where it could speak in human language and served as a member of the main Team Rocket trio out to steal Ash Ketchum’s Pikachu.
In thePokemongames, Meowth has several different evolutions and alternate forms. When Meowth reaches level 28, it can naturally evolve into the sleek feline Persian. Starting withPokemon Sun and Moon, it has aDark-type Alolan regional variantthat can evolve into Alolan Persian should it be leveled up with high friendship. FromPokemon Sword and Shieldonward, players could catch the Steel-type Galarian Meowth, which in turn could become Perrserker at level 28. Lastly, a Meowth with the Gigantamax Factor can temporarily become the towering Gigantamax Meowth mid-battle.
MostPokemonfans might not know that Meowth was originally going to have a smaller,pre-evolved Baby Pokemon formcalled Konya, which is said to have been planned as far back as Generation 1 before being scrapped, redesigned forPokemon Gold and Silver, then scrapped again. Players who know about Konya, or “Meowsy” as it is sometimes called, sometimes make artwork of the unused second design, with one of the more recent examples being Reddit user qobrosii on r/pokemon. Their rendition looks similar to officialPokemonartwork, though it lacks the floating coins on the leakedGold and SilverKonya sprite.
Pokemon Fan Draws Scrapped Meowth Gold and Silver Baby Form
This sprite was first discovered in 2018 when an unnamed fan uploaded anoldPokemon Gold and Silverdemothat was shown at the Nintendo Space World show back in 1997. Konya was one of the scrapped Pokemon sprites hidden in this rare demo, but the story of this kitten goes back even further. Assets from a beta version of the JapanesePokemon Red and Greenwere published online in 2019, among them a backward-facing sprite of a pre-evolved Meowth form that is believed to be a prototype of Konya that was likewise cut from the final release.
While Konya/Meowsy would never be seen inan officialPokemongame, it has gathered a fair level of mystique thanks to these leaks providing a look into what might have been. This in turn has inspired fans like qobrosii to draw their own versions of Meowsy and imagine what a final version of Meowth’s baby form could have looked like had it been included in either of its plannedPokemondebuts.
Pokemon
Pokemon is a franchise that needs no introduction. One of the most successful media empires in history, Pokemon spans games, television, films, manga, merchandise, music, and more.
